NMMA expands membership team, announces staff promotions
NMMA announced the hire of Ashley Smith as director of membership, bringing extensive association, member growth and engagement experience to the association. To further support the strategic priorities of NMMA, Jessica Dennis, who has been with NMMA since 2017, recently transitioned from her role in NMMA’s consumer and trade shows team to manager of membership services.
Smith, a Certified Association Executive, brings 14 years of association experience, most recently with the Association of Energy Services Professionals, with a focus on member engagement, recruitment, membership development, and customer satisfaction. In her role as director of membership, she will lead efforts to enhance, elevate and deliver value through the NMMA member experience.
Dennis spent the past seven years supporting the production of several NMMA boat shows and managing the Marine Accessories Pavilion at ICAST. In the newly created manager of membership role, she will assist with membership renewals, new member onboarding, Core Funding and Discover Boating data collection, and providing customer support.
As part of this evolution of the NMMA membership department, Nick Ligammari has been promoted to vice president of operations, overseeing this department, as well as his continued responsibilities with strategic alignment and tactical execution of the organization’s business operations. To support NMMA’s technical growth and alignment, Lewis Webb has been promoted to vice president of technology, where he will help drive innovation and lead cybersecurity, ensuring organization and member data are both secure. Ligammari and Webb report to Robert Newsome, chief administrative officer & senior vice president of operations.
After 24 years of exceptional service to NMMA and its members, Bryan Welsh will be retiring from his role as director of membership on Dec. 31.
“This strong team of membership-focused association professionals are helping NMMA ensure the growth and success of the recreational boating industry,” said Robert Newsome, NMMA chief administrative officer & senior vice president of Operations. “Ashley, Jessica, Lewis and Nick bring decades of membership service, technical experience and insights to their roles in order to deliver a top-quality association experience for our more than 1,300 member companies.”
NMMA said the new hires and elevated roles for the membership team support the strategic initiatives of the organization as it continues to deliver valuable resources for the recreational boating industry.
